Most commercial, institutional and other types of high occupancy buildings are constructed with sealed windows and use central ventilation systems to meet the minimum indoor air quality requirements of the applicable governing authorities. Typical central ventilation systems do not allow an individual to increase the amount of outside, fresh air provided to a room (e.g., an office) within a building. An individual may prefer to have an amount of outside air provided to a room that exceeds the amount provided by the central ventilation system.
Manually operable ventilators have been installed in rooms to provide individuals with the ability to obtain additional outside air (i.e., secondary ventilation). Examples of such ventilators are the slot ventilators as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,558,574 to Peak and U.S. Pat. No. 5,244,434 to Stoney et al.
Prior art slot ventilators often require relatively high manufacturing tolerances and can be difficult to assemble. Both of these factors can lead to higher manufacturing costs.
Some prior art designs have less than intuitive operational means, for example by requiring the sealing member of the slot ventilator to translate sideways and outward as it is opened. This can result in confusion for the user and damage to the slot ventilator when the user attempts to force the opening of the ventilator in an incorrect direction.
There is a need in the art for a slot ventilator that offers relatively high open areas with decreased manufacturing costs. Also, there is a need in the art for a slot ventilator that is more intuitively operative for a user.